1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to aircraft detection and, more particularly, to a method and system for assisting an aircraft pilot to readily determine the location of other aircraft in his or her field of view.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aircraft typically include heads-up displays, such as computer monitors and loudspeakers. When a computer monitor or the like is used to present a pilot with information about the position of other aircraft, the pilot must mentally map a display icon on the monitor to the outside world and look for very tiny objects in a large sky. The pilot must then manually scan the sky in an attempt to correlate the icon""s location on the monitor with the location of an actual aircraft represented by that icon. During this process, an air traffic controller may also provide audible clues (e.g., xe2x80x9cwatch for other traffic at 2 o""clockxe2x80x9d) to assist the pilot. These techniques obviously are quite inefficient, and it is not always a simple matter to translate an aircraft""s displayed or suggested position into some actual location in the sky. The problem is exacerbated by the aircraft""s own movement, pilot fatigue, weather conditions, and the like.
The present invention addresses this problem.
It is a primary object of this invention to provide a heads-up display technique in an aircraft to assist a pilot in locating other airplanes in the sky. The display technique assists the pilot in quickly locating and seeing other nearby traffic without having to manually search the pilot""s field of view.
According to the invention, a method of alerting a pilot to the location of other aircraft begins by detecting the presence of at least one other aircraft and then calculating that aircraft""s projected flight path in the sky. Given the position of the pilot""s head or eyes, a given image (e.g., a circle) is then projected (or otherwise displayed) on the aircraft""s windshield at a calculated position. This position represents a relatively small region in the sky that the pilot, given the head or eye position and the projected flight path, should expect to see the other aircraft. In this manner, the pilot need no longer search the sky to attempt to map a display image to an actual location in his or her field of view.
The image is preferably projected onto the windshield of the aircraft, and various techniques may be used for this purpose. Alternatively, the windshield itself may be fitted with transparent, pixelized liquid crystal elements that can be selectively controlled to render the image. If desired, the image may be rendered in different colors or shapes, and it may include text information identifying the aircraft type or flight number.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects and features of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention as will be described. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following Detailed Description of the preferred embodiment.